my teaching : wizard
my zest for nature and life....lust and love
my devotion to whom any i work with.....lol
my zest for nature and life....lust and love
my devotion to whom any i work with.....lol
 | Duidism, the woodzy wild | by Luxas for everyone |
Druids
didn't worship anything, they served only as they was called to due
only 5-10 druids was allowed to lead the others into training they
developed their skills from the one that came before, some believe that
the first druids served as earlier dragon's turned to men, by some war,
and that wouldn't be that far from the truth, however they was just
people,.....
The first druids was women, about a
band of 6-7 and they married from a socially re-stricted family design,
they shared in a sacred rite that was set at a place, need trees, it
was more of a gathering instead of ritual, later in the growth of their
learning they developed there rituals based on their life, and still
stayed from the holiday celebrations, of whichonly the norse and welsh
observed, not them, until their mixure, in the 3rd bce to 10th century
(only time will tell if you find out how they did this, lol)
modern
druidism is starting from the middle, they are adding as they go, and
will eventually be back where they started with asking why, it is
becoming more and more like the christian design they claim came from
before....and now is only a mini version of what it truly will become by
the year 3,000.....then they will reflect.....(i did..lol)
Time is measured by the stars not the planets, but heck they knew that..lol
did you...
| The Rituals of Diana | by Luxas for everyone |
saddly
they was shaped by the rituals of delphi, the drinking of a sacred
spring, and the looking into a sacred object, but to get to this they
shared their bodies, minds, and even sat face to face and looked into
the eyes of another until they was hynotized, believeing in the power of
these methods, they developed the 3 basic trances
(dancing and chanting was from a diffrent temple and much later)
The 3 was.......
avaon petra del dvan :
( in a sleep just drifting to an awaking touch on the world of the dead)
because they believe only the dead or dying could retrieve messages,
and some even killed others to send a message in....
de luna opel dvan:
(
by the light of the moon, as the body starts to drift, your shown in
the light and your image glows, they full extent is often those chosen
for this, leave and develop their own temple, because of (war/famine)
trouble)
chapel of the star : justio nos quada vlemo
(
after a year, the one whom has developed the skills of the 6 trials,
they would then take their final step before becoming the temple
priestess)
the trail was based on all the major gods...)
zeus/hera/persephone/ares/apollo, the final being her own... diana
well can't escape the mountian of the gods..lol
| Egyptian rituals | by Luxas for everyone |
The
lotus : in the beginning nun was the fountain from which all like came,
with geb her consort she created the powers of living the secrets of
these play a big part in their rituals....
The 4
tables : from your bread will you share in the fruits of this life and
the lives to come, is the trademark of this ritual,
the
pharo-s : The birth of one given seating at the table of the gods,
anubis walks with him through the hall of judgement to the temple of
horus and there he sits in the sun and inscribes the eye and words of
wisdom, before his trial by fire begins....
The priest ritual of the gods (death bettle)
:
magic(k) to the egyptians was quit common, so it was thought of as dirt
is thought of on ones feet, the ritual is but a sermon to pleade the
powers to the priest to honor the geat book, the great book being the
book of THOTH, in it is the promise of the powers if you prove yourself,
by the 4
tables (the first kabbalah)
The Book of Making (a massage ritual)
designed
for the temple of her and the sisters of her, it is the way of evoking
in the purest of all the powers of dreams and death, and in it is also a
ritual that if you was ready could perserve your living essense
but
you would then share it with a (nu-t) a guardian of the spirit, however
this ritual was reguarded as a fake, it was done quite often by the
wisest of travelers, said to have come from the stars.....
In
Each book is 5 rituals, and though they serve magic(k) they aren't
labeled witchcraft or any other faith/belief or factual unit....
I love the Egyptian culture because they had no fear over the un-known
because it came to visit on a continual bases.....
| 7 keys, 6 angels who was missing.... | by Luxas for everyone |
(I'm betting (hu)
Archangels:Michael: Teacher of the warriors hear, and guardian to any who try to mess with god...
Gabriel: Scolarly angelic being of all the known wisdom, If you ask it he might ell you... right hand of god..
Raphael: Poetic and prophic dreams, and the one who warns of others in the world of worlds
Azrael:
The fallen name of Natus, teacher of the emotions and gifter of the
desires, called the angel of death, but that was a diffrent guardian he
possessed, left hand of god....
Camael: Madeup angel naming and was given at the time of the romans...
(not a real angel.......)
(not a real angel.......)
Cassiel
: another madeup naming, however is an angel by another name, named
after a stone that sits at the bottom of the sea of gala-li
Jophiel:
saddly another name madeup, from joseph's dream, and does exist but by
another name, is a teacher of the future and often the one that taps
others on the shoulder.
Metatron: Lol, he was the angel of
fire, and the voice of god, however he wasn't known by that naming....
the name is actually (hu-met-aton) taken from the deity...hu
(egyptian) by the scolars of the time....(kaballah)
(egyptian) by the scolars of the time....(kaballah)
Raguel:
lol, another name madeup in the dreams of the prophic, comes from the
dead that angels image does...redemptions sort of...
Raziel:
An angel of the meories of time and space, the namiging of is a style of
wood as you will find the rest named almost the smae way...
Sandalphon:
lol, sandalwood ( the madeup angel of this incense, and the idea of the
way it works...(known only in religious circles...)
Zadkiel:
LoL, Izedkiel ( the name comes from the style of ritual death, and no
it didn't stop issac's hand.....( tthe idea of him as a power was more
to hope, but they left out why)
Michael, Jophiel,Chamuel,
Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel and Zadkiel (these are the ones that aresaid to
stand before the throne of God as such).
lol......
Saddly like the ritual their is only 6.....
Michael : north
Raphael :south
Gabriel : east
Uriel: west
Azrael : below
Izedkiel: above
Raphael :south
Gabriel : east
Uriel: west
Azrael : below
Izedkiel: above
andrul,
well if your a guy, then your an adept or mage not a witch,
if your a woman, then you can be by learning witchcraft,
as you have perhaps learned the diffrences in magic(k) come not from the learning but the frequency or aura if you wish of the practicing witch to be...
men and women can learn witchcraft, no big deal, but to natural use it is as the witch (female evolves the energy around he turns into a powerful shell, and then allows by touch her abuilty to read the other fields it touches and add that frequency to her own this is a form of channeling, but quite nature,
however if a male tries this, their field is deflected, because that isn't their form of using magic(k) until after they reach a bit higher level of being as the witch is generally prone to do...( I'm a guy, a teacher of witchcraft, teacher of occult magic(k) of over 17 years...
experience...so i would know... )
wiccan equality isn't based on this truth but more on the guy, girl eventually sense of god and goddess balance, and saddly, history of mythology hasn't ever said that was true.... EVER....
So find out for yourself.....
--
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well if your a guy, then your an adept or mage not a witch,
if your a woman, then you can be by learning witchcraft,
as you have perhaps learned the diffrences in magic(k) come not from the learning but the frequency or aura if you wish of the practicing witch to be...
men and women can learn witchcraft, no big deal, but to natural use it is as the witch (female evolves the energy around he turns into a powerful shell, and then allows by touch her abuilty to read the other fields it touches and add that frequency to her own this is a form of channeling, but quite nature,
however if a male tries this, their field is deflected, because that isn't their form of using magic(k) until after they reach a bit higher level of being as the witch is generally prone to do...( I'm a guy, a teacher of witchcraft, teacher of occult magic(k) of over 17 years...
experience...so i would know... )
wiccan equality isn't based on this truth but more on the guy, girl eventually sense of god and goddess balance, and saddly, history of mythology hasn't ever said that was true.... EVER....
So find out for yourself.....
--
__________________________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
One click access to the Top Search Engines
http://www.exactsearchbar.com/mailcom
Greetings out there,
I was starting to think I was all alone in this
group.The name I go by is Andurl I know some think it a plain name, not like
Gray Wolf or Sliver Dragon but none of those name have meaning to me. I am a
witch. My mother and her mother were also witches. I do not claim to be Wiccan
for that word has only been around for a short time. Well I just wanted to say
Hello and Thank you for letting me know I am not the only one here.
group.The name I go by is Andurl I know some think it a plain name, not like
Gray Wolf or Sliver Dragon but none of those name have meaning to me. I am a
witch. My mother and her mother were also witches. I do not claim to be Wiccan
for that word has only been around for a short time. Well I just wanted to say
Hello and Thank you for letting me know I am not the only one here.
Andurl
| About : your Headmaster of this group | by Luxas for everyone |
where should i start,
well
was at an early age interested in the occult, and it grew into contact
with books and people and well i started to study mythosd/lengends/and
languages of the old schools, as i wasonly begining my mage hood, self
studied and practicing adept mage, well i was doing things for myself
and the magic(k)al world, info exchange, spells, wood working, and
grimore study, it later grew into sygil and gating info, martial
dynamics and then philosophy of the beginnings of things, well from
there i was ininated into the world of roleplaying, well it was fun, but
fake, so i strived to find where this info that formed theres ralities
came from, 'folklore and mythos, well then i went into a place and was
adopted by a smiling wise person, whom turned out was a wizard( giving
you a bit look at, it would be hundreds of pages of what i have done,
well from there i was training in the sutle nature of the hermit wizard,
well i didn't think this nature went outside to obligation to the whole
of magic(k) one day as i was homeless and traveling, i was summoned by a
witch to a placve i never would go normally, well she claimed she
needed my help, use to giving it, i was impressed by her aura, and
magic(k)al skill,
bending flames/touching minds, even my own, and well having others move without her saying, these as taught to me seemed to be of witch, well as i learned more about witchcraft i thought well, i would like to join, at which she refused at first, but having a mind contest, she was well impressed and we broke even, beside she wanted my help, in something she wasn't saying, so i knew i was winning, but thats not why i wanted to know, and well i left her company and her coven to return home, a miracle in its own right, not before making my mark in Ca, without meaning too,
So ordained to the title of Hp, i took it more in a token fashion, because the real power of a witches circle to my knowing is the Hps (highprietess, if you can call her that, sometimes she can be her own mage or higher) as i got to see at ritual, well...in Maryland i adopted her training to aid in the teaching of witches (to honor her,) and my adventure in it...
during my travel i met pagan/shaman/wiccan and a few satanist, and well i was reminded of her saying...(we each share a part in magic(k)'s chain, however our linking is at the time we exchange not meld or transform or copy it onto us, as of my learning she said " that is for time and nature to decide...."
(Now i am the only wizard in my domain, if you can call my area a domain, i don't..lol)
bending flames/touching minds, even my own, and well having others move without her saying, these as taught to me seemed to be of witch, well as i learned more about witchcraft i thought well, i would like to join, at which she refused at first, but having a mind contest, she was well impressed and we broke even, beside she wanted my help, in something she wasn't saying, so i knew i was winning, but thats not why i wanted to know, and well i left her company and her coven to return home, a miracle in its own right, not before making my mark in Ca, without meaning too,
So ordained to the title of Hp, i took it more in a token fashion, because the real power of a witches circle to my knowing is the Hps (highprietess, if you can call her that, sometimes she can be her own mage or higher) as i got to see at ritual, well...in Maryland i adopted her training to aid in the teaching of witches (to honor her,) and my adventure in it...
during my travel i met pagan/shaman/wiccan and a few satanist, and well i was reminded of her saying...(we each share a part in magic(k)'s chain, however our linking is at the time we exchange not meld or transform or copy it onto us, as of my learning she said " that is for time and nature to decide...."
(Now i am the only wizard in my domain, if you can call my area a domain, i don't..lol)
I was learning way before the Idea of wizards hit le-land's book...and harry potter wasn't in ink yet...
The world is a door, that magic(k) can open with only one word "please or now"
http://hometown.aol.com/wzdrylmaster
| wicca speaks | by Luxas for everyone |
Wiccan History
Wicca is a relatively modern attempt (approximately 50 years old)
at reviving and reconstructing the old pre-Christian religions of
Europe. In a mythopoetic sense it is many centuries old. However,
the Witch of 200 years ago would not recognize what is called "witch-
craft" today. Modern Wicca may have some of its roots in some of the
local folk-magic and "family witchcraft" of mid 20th Century England.
It does have traceable roots in the Golden Dawn magical society of
late 19th century England, some of Aleister Crowley's magickal work
and some Ceremonial Magic dating back to Elizabethan times. For a
modern history of English Wicca, the reader can most profitably
consult the works of Janet and Stuart Farrar and Doreen Valiente.
Wicca is a relatively modern attempt (approximately 50 years old)
at reviving and reconstructing the old pre-Christian religions of
Europe. In a mythopoetic sense it is many centuries old. However,
the Witch of 200 years ago would not recognize what is called "witch-
craft" today. Modern Wicca may have some of its roots in some of the
local folk-magic and "family witchcraft" of mid 20th Century England.
It does have traceable roots in the Golden Dawn magical society of
late 19th century England, some of Aleister Crowley's magickal work
and some Ceremonial Magic dating back to Elizabethan times. For a
modern history of English Wicca, the reader can most profitably
consult the works of Janet and Stuart Farrar and Doreen Valiente.
| oto unveiled | by Luxas for everyone |
From: Kwaw93 (kwaw93@aol.comnojunk)
Subject: Gardner & the OTO [history]
View: Complete Thread (59 articles)
Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.religion.wicca.moderated
Date: 2002-01-27 10:25:05 PST
A while ago I posted some of my notes on the connections between
Gardner and
Crowley/OTO that some were interested in. Since that I time I have
revised
those notes and am sending here the update for those that were
interested.
There are disagreements as to when Crowley and Gardner first met.
However,
there is little
good evidence to dispute Gardner's own statement that he first met
Crowley in
1946;
especially as this is backed up by Arnold Crowther who stated that he
introduced the two men
that same year. However he may have known some members of the OTO and
other
acquaintance of Crowley's a lot longer. It is claimed by some for
example that
Louis
Wilkinson (a IX degree member of the OTO and long time friend of
Crowley) was
present at
'Operation Cone of Power' (or Operation Mistletoe - according to
which account
you prefer
to believe); along with Chief Druid MacGregor Reid (extensive
correspondence
between
Crowley and Reid is still extent at the Warburg Institute), and
Charles
Seymour.
We know from Crowley's diaries that by May of 1947 Gardner was a
member of the
OTO, a
3rd degree brother and Prince of Jerusalem. It was probably at this
time
Crowley gave
Gardner his charter to run a camp of the OTO to the degree minerval.
The
charter still exists
and is presently owned by Tau Allen Greenfield. We also know from a
letter
from Crowley to
Gerald Yorke that Gardner purchased 4 copies of 'The Equinox of the
Gods' from
Crowley at
this time; this is significant if you realize that one of Gardner's
duties as
a Brother and Head
of a Camp of the OTO would have been to spread the Law of Thelema
(ie, Do what
thou
wilt). A letter from Gardner to Crowley in June of 1947 reveals that
Gardner
had advanced
by that time to the VII degree. Later in the year Gardner travelled
to America
where it is
said he met Karl Germer, who confirmed him as Head of the Order in
Europe.
There is a
letter extent which confirms the arrangements for such a meeting.
According to
Bill Heidrick
this meeting may have taken place. However, Mr. Heidrick also states
that
while Germer may
have accepted Gardner's credentials as a member of the OTO, and the
authority
for Gardner to
run a camp of the OTO to the degree Minerval, there is no evidence
that Gardner
was
recognised as the official Head of the OTO in Europe. In fact, what
evidence
there is tends to
point against it.
According to Fred Lamont Gardner also met Jack Parsons while on his
visit to
America,
which may be significant in that Parsons' writings at this time
reveal he was
also promulgating
a new pagan religion under the banner of witchcraft. As Doreene
Valiente wrote
in a letter to
T. Allen Greenfield:
"I have a remarkable little book by Jack Parsons called MAGICK,
GNOSTICISM AND
THE
WITCHCRAFT. It is unfortunately undated, but Parsons died in 1952.
The section
on
witchcraft is particularly interesting because it looks forward to a
revival of
witchcraft as the
Old Religion....I find this very thought provoking. Did Parsons
write this
around the time that
Crowley was getting together with Gardner and perhaps communicated
with the
California
group to tell them about it? Parsons began forecasting the 'revival
of
witchcraft' in the
notorious 'Liber 49 - The Book of Babalon' written in 1946. The
timing of the
genesis of 'The
Book of Babalon' - which forecast a revival of witchcraft in covens
based upon
the number
eleven (the Thelemic number of MAGICK) rather than the traditional
thirteen,
seems to
coincide with Crowley's OTO Charter to Gardner, Gardner's U.S. visit,
and also
coincides
rather closely with the writing of HIGH MAGIC'S AID by Gardner."
However, as Bill Heidrick has pointed out, Gardner was in Tennessee
and New
York, Parsons
in California. So a meeting between the two seems unlikely. Was
there
correspondence
between the two? If so, it is not extent. Had Gardner gained
possession of
Parson's writings
on the subject? This is more probable, but again there is no
evidence to
support that this was
the case. Mr. Paul Hume has pointed out though that Parson's did
spend periods
of time on
the East Coast, in pursuance of his job and with defence contracts.
Was there
a 'window of
opportunity' for the two to meet on such an occasion? I do not know,
but it
remains a
possibility. Could Crowley have been the link between the common
interest in
witchcraft between the two? In a letter from Grady McMurtry to
Crowley in
1944, McMurtry writes, in connection to Parson's promulgation of
witchcraft:
" I know that witchcraft is all very interesting and has its place
etc but to
go into it to the detriment of the work as a whole seems such a waste
of time
and talent.
After all it is only a small part of the task."
After Crowley's death, in a letter dated December 24 1948 and sent
from Memphis
Tennessee
to Vernon Symonds Gardner states that "....Aleister gave me a charter
making me
Head of the
OTO in Europe." From the evidence we have this seems to be a matter of
confusion on
Gardner's part, who may have misunderstood what rights his charter to
run a
camp gave him.
Crowley seems to have given Gardner a charter to run a camp of the
OTO to the
degree
Minerval (there is a possibility of forgery on Gardner's part here
however),
this is no way
entitled Gardner to proclaim himself 'Head of the OTO in Europe' after
Crowley's death.
Even if such a camp was the only 'active' operation of the OTO in
England at
the time.
However there is also a letter from Lady Frieda Harris to Karl
Germer, dated
January 2 1948,
in which she also refers to Gardner as Head of the OTO in Europe. So
there is
obviously some
amount of confusion on this issue.
Sometime between 1948 and 1950 Gardner gave up what was either his
(self-appointed?) role
as Head of the OTO in Europe, or his charter to run a camp (or
both). He wrote
to Gerald
Yorke that his attempts to start an encampment of the order had been
foiled
through ill-health.
He still remained a member of the order however, and kept up a regular
correspondence with
Karl Germer (including sending him copies of his books) and
participated in
some of the
rituals of Kenneth Grant. (There is no record of Gardner either
having resigned
or being
expelled from the order. Bill Heidrick has confirmed that Gardner
and Germer
continued to
have friendly relationships, and that he knows of at least one
autographed
edition of one of
Gardner's books that was sent to Germer).
I am not sure when Gardner and Grant first met, but it was unlikely
to have
been before
Gardner's return from America in 1948. As one of the only active
members of the
OTO in
England, Grant appears to have taken a role in its administration and
promotion. When it
became clear that Gardner was too busy with the development of his
witchcraft
to have much
time left for the running of a camp of the OTO, Germer chartered
Grant to
operate a Camp in
the 'valley of London' in 1951.
Active membership of both the OTO and of Gardners new movement being
low, it
appears
there may have been rituals carried out by witches and magicians
together, and
for there to
have been some cross fertilisation of membership (no pun intended!).
An account
of such a
ritual in 1949 can be found in Grant's "Nightside of Eden" and also
Valiente's
"The rebirth of
witchcraft". The participants of which were Gardner, Grant and his
wife, Olive
North and
founder of the Order of the Morning Star Madeline Montalban.
This cosy arrangement wasn't to last however. The first to break out
of the
arrangement was
Madeline Montalban. Madeline, who has been described as a
famous 'London
Occultist', was
the founder in the mid 1950's of the 'Order of the Morning Star';
which appears
to have
taught 'angelic MAGICK'. Although often referred to as 'the witch of
St.Giles'
it seems she
was a ritual magician in the ceremonial tradition of the Golden
Dawn/OTO. She
is on record
as having described Gardner as 'ritually inept' and a 'fraud'. The
cause of
her falling out with
Gardner is unclear, but the result was that she barred her students
from
participation in witch
rituals. I have even read one article in which Montalban was
described as the
'wife of Aleister
Crowley'. As far as I am aware this is nonsense. I am not sure if
she even
met Crowley or
was in any was connected to the OTO.
There is a rumour that Montalban's fallout with Gardner followed an
incident in
which she
agreed to take part in a rite with him and ended up, as she is said
to have
described it, "tied up
naked and tickled with a feather duster". It could be that she was
describing a
ritual
flagellation that has got a little garbled in the telling, for
Gardner's
instructions on ritual
flagellation describe an action so mild as the results may have felt
more being
'tickled with a
feather duster' than a 'scourging' of any description. I suspect
Montalban was
far more than a
'sideshow' at the centre of neo-pagan movement at the time, and was
far more
central to the
origins of the neo-pagan/wiccan movement. I would like to know more
about her.
Gardner and Grant's relationship appears to have lasted until the
point in 1955
when Grant
was expelled from the order; one report that I have read says that
Germer then
wrote to
Gardner asking if he were willing once again to take up the reigns as
Head of
the Order in
Europe but Gardner declined. It was shortly after Grant's expulsion
that the
infamous
'magickal war' between Gardner and the Nu-Isis lodge began. For
those that may
not have
reference to it the 'magical war' broke out in latter half of 1955.
Grant has
said that he cannot
remember the original reason for their falling out but I doubt it is
no
coincidence that it started
at the same time Grant was expelled from the OTO on July 20 1955.
It is perhaps significant that it was after Grant was expelled from
the OTO
that Gardner
appears to have barred coven members from attending Grant's Nu-Isis
lodge.
Another reason
that may be significant in Gardner's disassociation from Grant and
the OTO at
this time may
be because of media attention. In the summer of 1955 the "Sunday
Pictorial" ran
a series of
articles associating witchcraft with devil worship. There was a
panic among
Gardner's group
with claims of surveillance, phone tapping and interference with
post. Gardner
and Valiente in
the panic destroyed documents and any correspondence that could in
any way at
all identify
any of the members or be in any way suggestive of the group being
involved in
Satanism. In
any media attack on witchcraft, devil worship, Satanism of course,
the name of
Aleister
Crowley always appeared.
As to Grant's version of the so called 'magickal war. After Gardner's
ban on
involvement with
Grant's group some left the coven and remained with Grant. One of
these was a
woman called
Clanda who claimed to be a Water-Witch. Furious that Grant
was 'stealing' his
witches
Gardner commissioned Austin Spare to prepare him a talisman for the
return of
stolen
property to its rightful place. Spares method was to bind what he
called an
'intrusive familiar'
into the substance of the talisman by a sex MAGICK process.
According to Grant
the charm
had
a dramatic effect at a ritual of the Nu-Isis lodge where Clanda lay
on a
massive altar placed
between two stout tapers:
"A current of ice-cold air swept through the room and at the same
time an eerie
scrabbling
sound came from the region of a heavily curtained window. Terror was
revealed
in Clanda's
eyes and her body was convulsed by violent shudders. She swayed and
reeled; a
fluttering
noise came from the window; the curtains parted and a monstrous bird
winged its
way into the
room and fastened its talons onto Clanda's flesh. It seemed, she
said, as if
the claws had lifted
her high up into the room, through the ceiling and out into the open
night..............She strove
with all her will to resist the creatures urgent clutches and fell
like a stone
upon the altar and
awoke sobbing, confused........as she stared at the window the heavy
curtains
billowed as if
beneath the impact of a powerful breeze............glistening light
upon the
frosted window
clearly revealed the unmistakable claw-marks of a giant
bird ............ and a
deposit of some
gelatinous substance, resembling seaweed, pulsated slowly on the
window-sill as
if breathing.
"Having learned that Spare had made a talisman for Gardner I asked
him what
nature of
demon he had bound to it. He replied: 'A sort of amphibious owl with
the wings
of a bat and
the talons of an eagle'. The stolen property (Clanda) was not
restored to
Gardner or his coven
however. Clanda left England for New Zealand, her ship was wrecked
and she was
drowned.
Did something take Clanda back to her 'rightful place' as a Water-
Witch - the
waves?"
(From an article by Grant in the Encyclopaedia of Witchcraft and
Demonology -
also
published in Man, Myth and Magic and several other places).
Hutton casts doubt on this story because none of Gardner's members of
the St.
Albans coven
can offer any corroboration. However there is no reason to believe
that any of
the St. Albans
coven would have any knowledge of Gardner's London based activities or
acquaintances. In
fact it is clear from Louise Bourne's portrait of Gardner in "Dancing
with
Witches" that
Gardner mixed in a variety of circles and took pains to ensure that
they knew
little of each
other.
>From the latter half of 1955 any ties between Gardner,Grant and the
OTO seem to
have been
cut, and from that point on he sought to disassociate himself from
both Crowley
and the OTO.
References:
A True History of Wicca, an essay by T. Allen Greenfield (available
on-line)
Notes on Gardnerian Wicca by Frederic Lamont (available on-line)
Response of Bill Heidrick to questions on the alt.magick newsgroup
Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare by Kenneth Grant
The Nightside of Eden by Kenneth Grant
The Rebirth of Witchcraft by Doreene Valiente
Crafting the Art of Magic by Aidan Kelly
Gerald Gardner, Witch by J. Bracelin (or rather, Idries Shah)
MAGICK, Gnosis and the Witchcraft by Jack Parsons
The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
also the following magazines/newsletters:
Thelema Lodge newsletter(s) (where several of the above quoted
letters were
published)
LASHTAL 1 (1988), 47
Nuit-Isis 10
Kwaw
Subject: Gardner & the OTO [history]
View: Complete Thread (59 articles)
Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.religion.wicca.moderated
Date: 2002-01-27 10:25:05 PST
A while ago I posted some of my notes on the connections between
Gardner and
Crowley/OTO that some were interested in. Since that I time I have
revised
those notes and am sending here the update for those that were
interested.
There are disagreements as to when Crowley and Gardner first met.
However,
there is little
good evidence to dispute Gardner's own statement that he first met
Crowley in
1946;
especially as this is backed up by Arnold Crowther who stated that he
introduced the two men
that same year. However he may have known some members of the OTO and
other
acquaintance of Crowley's a lot longer. It is claimed by some for
example that
Louis
Wilkinson (a IX degree member of the OTO and long time friend of
Crowley) was
present at
'Operation Cone of Power' (or Operation Mistletoe - according to
which account
you prefer
to believe); along with Chief Druid MacGregor Reid (extensive
correspondence
between
Crowley and Reid is still extent at the Warburg Institute), and
Charles
Seymour.
We know from Crowley's diaries that by May of 1947 Gardner was a
member of the
OTO, a
3rd degree brother and Prince of Jerusalem. It was probably at this
time
Crowley gave
Gardner his charter to run a camp of the OTO to the degree minerval.
The
charter still exists
and is presently owned by Tau Allen Greenfield. We also know from a
letter
from Crowley to
Gerald Yorke that Gardner purchased 4 copies of 'The Equinox of the
Gods' from
Crowley at
this time; this is significant if you realize that one of Gardner's
duties as
a Brother and Head
of a Camp of the OTO would have been to spread the Law of Thelema
(ie, Do what
thou
wilt). A letter from Gardner to Crowley in June of 1947 reveals that
Gardner
had advanced
by that time to the VII degree. Later in the year Gardner travelled
to America
where it is
said he met Karl Germer, who confirmed him as Head of the Order in
Europe.
There is a
letter extent which confirms the arrangements for such a meeting.
According to
Bill Heidrick
this meeting may have taken place. However, Mr. Heidrick also states
that
while Germer may
have accepted Gardner's credentials as a member of the OTO, and the
authority
for Gardner to
run a camp of the OTO to the degree Minerval, there is no evidence
that Gardner
was
recognised as the official Head of the OTO in Europe. In fact, what
evidence
there is tends to
point against it.
According to Fred Lamont Gardner also met Jack Parsons while on his
visit to
America,
which may be significant in that Parsons' writings at this time
reveal he was
also promulgating
a new pagan religion under the banner of witchcraft. As Doreene
Valiente wrote
in a letter to
T. Allen Greenfield:
"I have a remarkable little book by Jack Parsons called MAGICK,
GNOSTICISM AND
THE
WITCHCRAFT. It is unfortunately undated, but Parsons died in 1952.
The section
on
witchcraft is particularly interesting because it looks forward to a
revival of
witchcraft as the
Old Religion....I find this very thought provoking. Did Parsons
write this
around the time that
Crowley was getting together with Gardner and perhaps communicated
with the
California
group to tell them about it? Parsons began forecasting the 'revival
of
witchcraft' in the
notorious 'Liber 49 - The Book of Babalon' written in 1946. The
timing of the
genesis of 'The
Book of Babalon' - which forecast a revival of witchcraft in covens
based upon
the number
eleven (the Thelemic number of MAGICK) rather than the traditional
thirteen,
seems to
coincide with Crowley's OTO Charter to Gardner, Gardner's U.S. visit,
and also
coincides
rather closely with the writing of HIGH MAGIC'S AID by Gardner."
However, as Bill Heidrick has pointed out, Gardner was in Tennessee
and New
York, Parsons
in California. So a meeting between the two seems unlikely. Was
there
correspondence
between the two? If so, it is not extent. Had Gardner gained
possession of
Parson's writings
on the subject? This is more probable, but again there is no
evidence to
support that this was
the case. Mr. Paul Hume has pointed out though that Parson's did
spend periods
of time on
the East Coast, in pursuance of his job and with defence contracts.
Was there
a 'window of
opportunity' for the two to meet on such an occasion? I do not know,
but it
remains a
possibility. Could Crowley have been the link between the common
interest in
witchcraft between the two? In a letter from Grady McMurtry to
Crowley in
1944, McMurtry writes, in connection to Parson's promulgation of
witchcraft:
" I know that witchcraft is all very interesting and has its place
etc but to
go into it to the detriment of the work as a whole seems such a waste
of time
and talent.
After all it is only a small part of the task."
After Crowley's death, in a letter dated December 24 1948 and sent
from Memphis
Tennessee
to Vernon Symonds Gardner states that "....Aleister gave me a charter
making me
Head of the
OTO in Europe." From the evidence we have this seems to be a matter of
confusion on
Gardner's part, who may have misunderstood what rights his charter to
run a
camp gave him.
Crowley seems to have given Gardner a charter to run a camp of the
OTO to the
degree
Minerval (there is a possibility of forgery on Gardner's part here
however),
this is no way
entitled Gardner to proclaim himself 'Head of the OTO in Europe' after
Crowley's death.
Even if such a camp was the only 'active' operation of the OTO in
England at
the time.
However there is also a letter from Lady Frieda Harris to Karl
Germer, dated
January 2 1948,
in which she also refers to Gardner as Head of the OTO in Europe. So
there is
obviously some
amount of confusion on this issue.
Sometime between 1948 and 1950 Gardner gave up what was either his
(self-appointed?) role
as Head of the OTO in Europe, or his charter to run a camp (or
both). He wrote
to Gerald
Yorke that his attempts to start an encampment of the order had been
foiled
through ill-health.
He still remained a member of the order however, and kept up a regular
correspondence with
Karl Germer (including sending him copies of his books) and
participated in
some of the
rituals of Kenneth Grant. (There is no record of Gardner either
having resigned
or being
expelled from the order. Bill Heidrick has confirmed that Gardner
and Germer
continued to
have friendly relationships, and that he knows of at least one
autographed
edition of one of
Gardner's books that was sent to Germer).
I am not sure when Gardner and Grant first met, but it was unlikely
to have
been before
Gardner's return from America in 1948. As one of the only active
members of the
OTO in
England, Grant appears to have taken a role in its administration and
promotion. When it
became clear that Gardner was too busy with the development of his
witchcraft
to have much
time left for the running of a camp of the OTO, Germer chartered
Grant to
operate a Camp in
the 'valley of London' in 1951.
Active membership of both the OTO and of Gardners new movement being
low, it
appears
there may have been rituals carried out by witches and magicians
together, and
for there to
have been some cross fertilisation of membership (no pun intended!).
An account
of such a
ritual in 1949 can be found in Grant's "Nightside of Eden" and also
Valiente's
"The rebirth of
witchcraft". The participants of which were Gardner, Grant and his
wife, Olive
North and
founder of the Order of the Morning Star Madeline Montalban.
This cosy arrangement wasn't to last however. The first to break out
of the
arrangement was
Madeline Montalban. Madeline, who has been described as a
famous 'London
Occultist', was
the founder in the mid 1950's of the 'Order of the Morning Star';
which appears
to have
taught 'angelic MAGICK'. Although often referred to as 'the witch of
St.Giles'
it seems she
was a ritual magician in the ceremonial tradition of the Golden
Dawn/OTO. She
is on record
as having described Gardner as 'ritually inept' and a 'fraud'. The
cause of
her falling out with
Gardner is unclear, but the result was that she barred her students
from
participation in witch
rituals. I have even read one article in which Montalban was
described as the
'wife of Aleister
Crowley'. As far as I am aware this is nonsense. I am not sure if
she even
met Crowley or
was in any was connected to the OTO.
There is a rumour that Montalban's fallout with Gardner followed an
incident in
which she
agreed to take part in a rite with him and ended up, as she is said
to have
described it, "tied up
naked and tickled with a feather duster". It could be that she was
describing a
ritual
flagellation that has got a little garbled in the telling, for
Gardner's
instructions on ritual
flagellation describe an action so mild as the results may have felt
more being
'tickled with a
feather duster' than a 'scourging' of any description. I suspect
Montalban was
far more than a
'sideshow' at the centre of neo-pagan movement at the time, and was
far more
central to the
origins of the neo-pagan/wiccan movement. I would like to know more
about her.
Gardner and Grant's relationship appears to have lasted until the
point in 1955
when Grant
was expelled from the order; one report that I have read says that
Germer then
wrote to
Gardner asking if he were willing once again to take up the reigns as
Head of
the Order in
Europe but Gardner declined. It was shortly after Grant's expulsion
that the
infamous
'magickal war' between Gardner and the Nu-Isis lodge began. For
those that may
not have
reference to it the 'magical war' broke out in latter half of 1955.
Grant has
said that he cannot
remember the original reason for their falling out but I doubt it is
no
coincidence that it started
at the same time Grant was expelled from the OTO on July 20 1955.
It is perhaps significant that it was after Grant was expelled from
the OTO
that Gardner
appears to have barred coven members from attending Grant's Nu-Isis
lodge.
Another reason
that may be significant in Gardner's disassociation from Grant and
the OTO at
this time may
be because of media attention. In the summer of 1955 the "Sunday
Pictorial" ran
a series of
articles associating witchcraft with devil worship. There was a
panic among
Gardner's group
with claims of surveillance, phone tapping and interference with
post. Gardner
and Valiente in
the panic destroyed documents and any correspondence that could in
any way at
all identify
any of the members or be in any way suggestive of the group being
involved in
Satanism. In
any media attack on witchcraft, devil worship, Satanism of course,
the name of
Aleister
Crowley always appeared.
As to Grant's version of the so called 'magickal war. After Gardner's
ban on
involvement with
Grant's group some left the coven and remained with Grant. One of
these was a
woman called
Clanda who claimed to be a Water-Witch. Furious that Grant
was 'stealing' his
witches
Gardner commissioned Austin Spare to prepare him a talisman for the
return of
stolen
property to its rightful place. Spares method was to bind what he
called an
'intrusive familiar'
into the substance of the talisman by a sex MAGICK process.
According to Grant
the charm
had
a dramatic effect at a ritual of the Nu-Isis lodge where Clanda lay
on a
massive altar placed
between two stout tapers:
"A current of ice-cold air swept through the room and at the same
time an eerie
scrabbling
sound came from the region of a heavily curtained window. Terror was
revealed
in Clanda's
eyes and her body was convulsed by violent shudders. She swayed and
reeled; a
fluttering
noise came from the window; the curtains parted and a monstrous bird
winged its
way into the
room and fastened its talons onto Clanda's flesh. It seemed, she
said, as if
the claws had lifted
her high up into the room, through the ceiling and out into the open
night..............She strove
with all her will to resist the creatures urgent clutches and fell
like a stone
upon the altar and
awoke sobbing, confused........as she stared at the window the heavy
curtains
billowed as if
beneath the impact of a powerful breeze............glistening light
upon the
frosted window
clearly revealed the unmistakable claw-marks of a giant
bird ............ and a
deposit of some
gelatinous substance, resembling seaweed, pulsated slowly on the
window-sill as
if breathing.
"Having learned that Spare had made a talisman for Gardner I asked
him what
nature of
demon he had bound to it. He replied: 'A sort of amphibious owl with
the wings
of a bat and
the talons of an eagle'. The stolen property (Clanda) was not
restored to
Gardner or his coven
however. Clanda left England for New Zealand, her ship was wrecked
and she was
drowned.
Did something take Clanda back to her 'rightful place' as a Water-
Witch - the
waves?"
(From an article by Grant in the Encyclopaedia of Witchcraft and
Demonology -
also
published in Man, Myth and Magic and several other places).
Hutton casts doubt on this story because none of Gardner's members of
the St.
Albans coven
can offer any corroboration. However there is no reason to believe
that any of
the St. Albans
coven would have any knowledge of Gardner's London based activities or
acquaintances. In
fact it is clear from Louise Bourne's portrait of Gardner in "Dancing
with
Witches" that
Gardner mixed in a variety of circles and took pains to ensure that
they knew
little of each
other.
>From the latter half of 1955 any ties between Gardner,Grant and the
OTO seem to
have been
cut, and from that point on he sought to disassociate himself from
both Crowley
and the OTO.
References:
A True History of Wicca, an essay by T. Allen Greenfield (available
on-line)
Notes on Gardnerian Wicca by Frederic Lamont (available on-line)
Response of Bill Heidrick to questions on the alt.magick newsgroup
Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare by Kenneth Grant
The Nightside of Eden by Kenneth Grant
The Rebirth of Witchcraft by Doreene Valiente
Crafting the Art of Magic by Aidan Kelly
Gerald Gardner, Witch by J. Bracelin (or rather, Idries Shah)
MAGICK, Gnosis and the Witchcraft by Jack Parsons
The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
also the following magazines/newsletters:
Thelema Lodge newsletter(s) (where several of the above quoted
letters were
published)
LASHTAL 1 (1988), 47
Nuit-Isis 10
Kwaw
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